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 Above: The 61st Street station platform, looking north in 1985. Except for the signage, the platform looks almost exactly the same as the day it opened in 1893. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Michael Roegner) Below Right: A 61st Street station sign, from before 1993. (Sign from the collection of Graham Garfield) |
61st
(6100S/300E)
61st Street and Prairie
Avenue, Washington Park
Service Notes:
Green Line: Jackson Park branch
Quick Facts:
Address: 316 E. 61st Street
Established: January 22, 1892
Original Line: South Side Rapid Transit
Previous Names: none
Rebuilt: n/a
Skip-Stop Type:
Station
Status: Demolished
History:
The
61st Street station, designed by architect Myron H. Church and
engineer R.I. Sloan, was built in 1892 when the South Side Rapid
Transit extended its tracks to Jackson Park for the 1893 World's
Fair. The station building was a grade-level structure, identical to
the structure still at Garfield, and
those now removed from Indiana, 51st,
and 58th. The structure was built by the
Rapid Transit and Bridge Construction Company of brick with stone
sills and foundation and polychrome brickwork along the roof line.
The platforms were standard for the South Side Rapid Transit and most
of the "L" system: dual wooden decks and treads on a steel structure.
The canopy was constructed of steel posts supporting a tin roof. The
platform lights were of the classic shepherd's crook variety. Service
was extended to 61st Street on January 22, 1893 and beyond just three
months later.
On March 4, 1982, service on Jackson Park branch was suspended south of 61st Street due to structural defects in the Dorchester bridge over the Illinois Central Railroad. The city's Department of Transportation come up with a number of responses, which included cutting service to Dorchester on the west side of the IC tracks, abandoning the Jackson Park branch altogether and replacing the IC bridge and restoring service to the Stony Island terminal, the latter of which Mayor Byrne supported. On December 12, 1982, service was restored as far as the University Avenue stop. The defective bridge was later demolished.
Because
the Jackson Park branch's yard and shops are at 61st
Street (immediately south of the station) instead of at the end
of the line, some trains, especially at night, would end their runs
at 61st Street and then retire into the yard instead of going to the
end of the line and deadheading (running without passengers) back to
61st. (An additional facility, immediately south, was added in 1903:
the Lower 63rd
Yard.) 61st station was also a common location for mid-line car
adds and cuts, also due to the presence of the adjacent yard. For
instance, as the heavy rush hour ridership period approached, it
would be common for a 4-car northbound train dispatched from
Stony Island (or later, University)
to have another four cars added to the back of it while the train was
stopped in the station to make an 8-car train for the rest of the
trip downtown. These adds and cuts by switchmen in the station ceased
after the line closed for renovation in 1994.
The station remained open until 1994, when the Green Line closed for repairs and rehabilitation. 61st Street didn't reopen in 1996 with the rest of the line, a casualty of service cuts. The platform is now gone, as is the station house, though the concrete foundation of the latter can still be seen underneath the tracks on the north side of the street.
 Caught in a bird's eye view from the adjacent 61st Street Shops, a four-car train of the first four 2400s lead by 2404 stops at 61st Street on the Jackson Park branch as part of its 600-hour revenue service test on October 31, 1976. Not actually assigned to the North-South Route, it still bears its "Spirit of Chicago" destination signs. For a larger view, click here. (Collection of Joe Testagrose) |
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